What better way to celebrate fairies than with this charming and fascinating big book by Emily Hawkins and illustrated by Jessica Roux. The book begins with a letter written by Professor Elsie Arbour in 1925, and it is addressed to her niece. Aunt Elsie is a botanist, but she explains in the letter that in recent years she has developed a new passion–the study of fairies. All of her information is in this book that she is entrusting to her niece while she goes to South American in search of the illusive Hummingbird Fairy. She asks her niece to keep the book a secret because she is afraid her colleagues will mock her about studying fairies. In a publisher’s note, readers are told that the book has been recently discovered, but none of the information can be verified. “Readers who are interested to find out whether fairies really exist are advised to carry out their own investigations.” This is a beautifully crafted book that adults and children, probably age 5 and older, can share. It’s the kind of book you can “dip in and out of” as the author says. Hawkins wrote the book to present fairies as real life creatures so that she could present them as a biologist would present real plants and animals. Children will learn the importance of our environment as it relates to the fairies who may live there, and to all of us who do. Sections of the book cover “What are Fairies,” which uses a discussion of mammals and insects to determine what fairies are; “The Secret Life of Fairies,” “The Anatomy of a Fairy,” “Fairy Wings,” and “Fairy Camouflage,” which illustrates how fairies camouflage themselves in their environment. These are followed by sections on fairies around the world and in different environments.
Today's Kidlit Book 